Michigan has the second largest Arab-American population in the US
Democrat Abdul El-Sayed won the U.S. Senate seat in the battleground state of Michigan on Tuesday, becoming the first Muslim U.S. senator after besting Republican Mike Rogers in a contest BBC News described as fuelled by withering attacks and inter-party disputes. BBC News described the former public health administrator as a left-wing Democrat who, throughout his campaign, channelled grassroots frustration with Washington politics and U.S. ties to Israel. El-Sayed’s left-wing platform included universal health care and a wealth tax on billionaires.
BBC News reported that massive outside spending heavily favored Republican Mike Rogers in the general election and El-Sayed’s Democratic primary opponent, Haley Stevens. Rogers, backed by President Donald Trump, portrayed El-Sayed as a communist and criticized his stance on Israel and his Muslim faith, BBC News said. The outlet said the attacks included baseless claims tying El-Sayed to terrorism and a high-profile dispute with another Democrat, and it described El-Sayed as unapologetic and unwavering in his stances.
Stevens endorsed Rogers just days before the election, and many had questioned whether the last-minute endorsement could make a difference in the race. BBC News reported that Democratic leadership called the switch “a despicable betrayal” and that Stevens’s staff reportedly resigned in mass. BBC News separately reported that Stevens defended her endorsement switch to Rogers two days before the election. Voters who spoke with the BBC in Michigan said they were confused by the move, with some questioning whether the congresswoman was acting out of anger. El-Sayed said he did not “think about Haley Stevens” and that “none of this matters.”
El-Sayed argued against Trump’s policies, which he blamed for raising costs for voters in the state, and took on money in politics. BBC News characterized Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez as left-wing leaders with whom El-Sayed campaigned.
On the campaign trail, El-Sayed, the son of Egyptian immigrants, described Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide and called for an end to U.S. aid to the country. BBC News said the Israel question carried particular resonance in Michigan, which it reported was home to the second largest Arab-American population in the US. The issue also fueled tensions between El-Sayed and Stevens, whom BBC News described as a “staunch supporter of Israel”; Stevens’s primary campaign received millions of dollars in backing from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
The Michigan seat had been held by retiring Democrat Gary Peters, and analysts considered the contest one of the tightest races in Tuesday’s midterm elections. BBC News said the race was widely seen as a test of the political influence of the Democratic left in a key battleground state, following primary wins by democratic socialist candidates in more politically favored districts. The outlet said El-Sayed’s result further cemented Democrats’ control of the U.S. Senate after a wave of wins that included races in deep-Republican areas. In presidential elections, Michigan is one of the crucial swing states: its voters chose Joe Biden in 2020 and Donald Trump in 2024.
After waiting long hours and watching a wave of Democratic gains across the country, El-Sayed’s supporters celebrated wildly when he took the stage to mark his victory. They gave deafening cheers, chanted his name in jubilation and held up a sea of iPhones to record what BBC News described as the historic moment of a Muslim man elected to the Senate. Several people in the crowd embraced, filled with emotion, and repeated El-Sayed’s slogan back to him like they were at a concert: “Money out of politics, money in your pocket and Medicare for all.”
In the early hours of Wednesday morning, El-Sayed thanked the crowd for taking a chance on “the unlikeliest of candidates” and then turned to his opponents. “They went all in on one of the ugliest campaigns we’ve seen in a long time,” he said, accusing them of attacking him “because of my name and my faith.” He added: “They wanted an America that is too small for some of us. We know that this is an America that is big enough for all of us.”
BBC News said El-Sayed had shown on the campaign trail that he was willing to hit back at “Maga attacks.” In the victory speech, he used the Arabic phrase “Alhamdullah” and aimed a remark at Republicans, saying that “for the rightwing ops, that just means praise be to God.”
BBC News called the result a milestone for Muslim Americans who had watched, along with their children, as El-Sayed faced increasing anti-Muslim rhetoric, including from President Donald Trump directly. The outlet said the victory came at a time of rising Islamophobia nationwide.
Roula Allouch, an Arab American Muslim, told the BBC she had goosebumps from the campaign’s success. “I’m proud of Abdul, the campaign that he ran, his family for their perseverance through all the hate, the Islamophobic rhetoric that was thrown at him throughout this campaign,” she said.
Another Muslim woman in the crowd said El-Sayed’s win meant everything to her. “He makes us so proud and it just makes us feel like we can stand a little taller, broaden our shoulders and know somebody has our back and that he’s going to be in Washington really fighting for us,” she said.
Celebrating with family from Chicago, a South Asian Muslim supporter said the moment was historic for everyone who had been made to feel they did not belong in America or had no place in politics. “If someone with the name of Abdul can make it, that means this next generation can look up and say that they can too,” she told the BBC.
BBC News described the 42-year-old El-Sayed as representing a generation of Arab Americans and Muslims who were born in the United States to immigrant parents and grew up in post-9/11 America.